Objective To examine the impact of home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic on the sleep patterns and sleep disturbances in Italian children and adolescents. Methods Participants completed an anonymous online survey, shared via social media and targeting children and adolescents aged 1 to 18 years, subdivided into age groups: 1-3, 4-5, 6-12, and 13-18 years. Caregivers completed a modified version of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), along with demographic information. Results The final sample consisted of 4,314 subjects: 2,217 males (50.4%) and 2,097 females (49.6%). Age group distribution was: 1-3 years 1,263 (29.3%), 4-5 years 893 (20.7%), 6-12 years 1,848 (42.8%) and 13-18 years 310 (7.2%). We found a significant delay in bedtime and risetime in all age groups. School-age children and adolescents experienced the most significant delay: weekday bedtime ≥23 was reported by 28.4% of 6- to 12-year-old children during lockdown vs. 0.9% before and by 63.5% vs. 12.3% of 13- to 18-year-old adolescents. Risetime was also delayed with most subjects waking up after 8 in all age groups and sleep duration increased in all groups but not in the younger group. The screen time (excluding online lessons) boosted during the lockdown, mainly in older children but also in younger children. Sleep disorders increased in all groups but not in adolescents. Younger groups had an increased prevalence of difficulty falling asleep, anxiety at bedtime, night awakenings, nightmares and sleep terrors. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that confinement due to COVID-19 determined a big delay in sleep/wake schedule of children in all age groups as well as an increase of sleep disturbances in all groups but adolescents.

The Italian Consensus Position Statement on Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Obesity in Children and Adolescents integrates and updates the previous guidelines to deliver an evidence based approach to the disease. The following areas were reviewed: (1) obesity definition and causes of secondary obesity; (2) physical and psychosocial comorbidities; (3) treatment and care settings; (4) prevention.The main novelties deriving from the Italian experience lie in the definition, screening of the cardiometabolic and hepatic risk factors and the endorsement of a staged approach to treatment. The evidence based efficacy of behavioral intervention versus pharmacological or surgical treatments is reported. Lastly, the prevention by promoting healthful diet, physical activity, sleep pattern, and environment is strongly recommended since the intrauterine phase.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13052-018-0525-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is dedicated to advancing the science of clinical sleep medicine. In order to provide subscribers with access to new scientific developments as early as possible, accepted papers are posted prior to their final publication in an issue.These papers are posted as received-without copyediting or formatting by the publisher. In some instances, substantial changes are made during the copyediting and formatting processes; therefore, the final version of the paper may differ significantly from this version.Unless indicated otherwise, all papers are copyright of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. No paper in whole or in part may be used in any form without written permission from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs) are a common clinical condition in children, in fact about 25% of children under 1 year and 6% of children during the first 6 years of life have RRIs. In most cases, infections occur with mild clinical manifestations and the frequency of episodes tends to decrease over time with a complete resolution by 12 years of age. However, RRIs significantly reduce child and family quality of life and lead to significant medical and social costs.Despite the importance of this condition, there is currently no agreed definition of the term RRIs in the literature, especially concerning the frequency and type of infectious episodes to be considered. The aim of this consensus document is to propose an updated definition and provide recommendations with the intent of guiding the physician in the complex process of diagnosis, management and prevention of RRIs.